Leaving the Shore

Artist’s Statement: D J Wilson, LRPS

Barefoot, leash in hand, a woman and her small dog trace the ocean’s edge in slow companionship. The curve of the dress, the paw prints, and the waves all speak to the cycles of return—age and innocence walking forward into the wash of time.

One older, one younger, they follow the tide’s retreat - salt in the breeze.

She walks the fringe of foam and land,

her sandals swinging in her hand,

the terrier bold, the leash held loose,

the tide her final truce.

A dress of blooms, hair silvered soft,

they trace the coast where waves aloft

once pulled her children in with glee —

now memories keep her company.